


Take Care

by emungere



Category: Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten | Antique Bakery
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1944198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emungere/pseuds/emungere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For newkate and louiselux: Tachibana and Chikage, looking after each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take Care

Tachibana added soba noodles and soy-ginger sauce to the wok, added the scallions, added the egg last of all. He heard the crash behind him just as he turned the heat off.

"Chikage!"

"Sorry, my lord! The plate was slippery."

He sighed and turned around. "Look, let me set the table, okay? You can get us some water. Plastic glasses. Over the sink, remember?"

Chikage nodded obediently, got the glasses down, and dropped them in the sink. They bounced. He had a few coordination problems, okay, but this was unusual.

"Still thinking about Ono?"

Silence, the sound of water running.

"He really is staying?" Chikage asked, finally.

"He really is staying. He wouldn't have said so if he didn't mean it." Tachibana was reasonably sure that was true. Discounting his personal life, Ono seemed like a truthful kind of guy.

Tachibana scooped noodles, vegetables, and tofu onto plates and got the broom out to clean up the broken dish on the floor. If Chikage didn't get over his upset soon, they'd have to buy plastic ones.

"Come and eat," he said. "You can help me clean up the mess after."

Chikage placed a glass of water in front of each of their plates and sat opposite him. "Do you think..." he started.

"What? And eat before it gets cold."

"Mm gum mmha?"

"And don't talk with your mouth full!"

Chikage swallowed. "Do you think he'll ever ask me to have a drink with him again, my lord?"

_I hope to fucking god he won't._ Tachibana swallowed the words along with a mouthful of noodles. They weren't strictly true anyway. Ono had been genuinely sorry when he made Chikage cry. Tachibana was pretty sure that wouldn't happen again, but it was hard to ignore the fact that getting involved with Ono seemed to be the romantic equivalent of walking into a minefield: a guy was damn lucky to get out unscathed.

"Maybe," he compromised. "You'd like that?"

Chikage was quiet for a long time before he answered, except for the slurping of noodles. "I think I would," he said. Pink began to seep into his cheeks. "I like him very much."

"I know." He didn't know what else to say.

It was hard not to like Ono. As an employee, he was nearly perfect, except for that one little flaw. He'd been kind to Chikage, treated him a lot better than most people would, apologized when he fucked up. It was damn decent of him to take Eiji in and teach him.

What had Ono said? Two years and the kid would know everything he knew? Something like that. Tachibana wondered if Ono would leave then. Maybe that was why he decided to teach Eiji in the first place. He was used to moving around, after all. Maybe he'd go back to France or something.

Tachibana finished his dinner and started picking up the larger shards of plate.

It wouldn't matter, of course, if Ono left then. As long as Eiji knew everything he knew, they'd still be the best bakery in Tokyo. It might be a little weird, not having Ono around anymore, but he'd get used to it. They'd all get used to it.

It would be good, even, he told himself. Tachibana wouldn't have to worry about that damned demonic charm and who it would reel in next. Much better to have him gone. Right.

He wondered if Ono would be any more likely to stay if he and Chikage got together.

"Ow, shit!"

"My lord? What's wr-- Oh, you're bleeding!"

Tachibana wrapped a napkin around his finger as Chikage tried to move in three direction simultaneously. "Medicine cabinet. Band-Aids. Don't freak out, it's just a scratch."

While Chikage was gone, Tachibana picked up the shard of plate that had cut him and chucked it viciously into the trashcan. He had _not_ just thought that. Offering to pimp _himself_ out to Ono was bad enough. He would've done it, too. He was pretty sure. Really would've gone through with it, if Ono hadn't turned him down.

He shook his head sharply. Ono hadn't turned him down. He'd said he was staying anyway. He'd let him off the hook.

Blood seeped through the napkin as he watched, staining it bright red.

Chikage returned and knelt beside him, peeling the napkin away. Tachibana held still and let him clean and bandage the cut.

"Does it hurt a lot, my lord?" Chikage peered anxiously at him over the tops of his sunglasses.

Tachibana sighed and leaned against his shoulder. "Yeah. It hurts."


End file.
